From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe cradle of somethingthe cradle of somethingformalCOME FROM/ORIGINATE the place where something important began Athens is often regarded as the cradle of democracy. → cradle
Examples from the Corpus
the cradle of something• It was also the cradle of the nation's aircraft industry, starting with A V Roe's historic flight in 1908.• I imagined Richard, my massive hunk, sheltering a tiny kitty in the cradle of his arm.• Inside the cradle of my legs I carry hunger.• This region after all is the cradle of civilisation.• Democracy of the shared class-room experience is the cradle of democracy in the outside world.• I was born on the crest of a wave and rocked in the cradle of the deep.• All told, the cradle of civilization has been tearing asunder for some 30 million years.• Leipzig was the cradle of East Germany's pro-democracy movement.• In school we sang Hail to thee, Lake Wobegon, the cradle of our youth. 